Paris to Ivory Coast flight diverted to Marseille; aircraft to be searched

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PARIS — A plane heading from Paris to the West African nation of Ivory Coast was diverted to an airport in southern France on Thursday and safely evacuated following a bomb threat, a regional official said.

The Air Ivoire plane, with about 50 people aboard, landed at the airport in Marseille, Christian Fremont, top official in the southern Bouches-du-Rhone region, told France 2 television.

The airplane was isolated, and bomb disposal experts were waiting for a safe period of time to go by before searching the plane, he said.

Officials had received a threatening phone call saying a bomb was aboard the flight, Fremont said. The plane was flying from Orly Airport, outside Paris, to Abidjan in Ivory Coast, he said.